Seeking Shelter

WeHo News publisher Ryan Gierach's time at the PATH L.A. homeless shelter — and his fight to improve conditions there — was the subject of last week's cover story (“Gimme Shelter,” by Gendy Alimurung). UltimateBandGirl writes, “I am so happy to see this exposé of PATH. I stayed there less than two weeks in 2008. The conditions were so bad. The staff constantly berated and verbally abused us. We were called in early for mandatory meetings that never happened. The bed bugs were terrible. Horrible place. I get angry passing by there, thinking about how they abused us.”

Mountainoceans seconds that praise. “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for publishing this story. I stayed in Santa Monica's Turning Point Transitional Shelter and I experienced the same problems and worse. I tried to get other residents to come forward to tell their story, but without at least five other people collaborating my story, my evidence and story were worthless. The shelters are the reason that many homeless people and house-less working people refuse to go to a shelter. The staff is just as abusive as the people of the streets and mainstream society.“

Sfuller228 has a different take: “I'm also an ex-PATH resident. Was it pleasant? No. Was it a nightmare? Certainly not. For me, it was an opportunity to find myself again, and, in that regard, I'm glad that PATH was there. Of course, some of the staff is a bit iffy, but most of them are pretty sincere in trying to do the best possible with a very difficult population.”

Fighting Putin in Hollywood

Gene Rothman of Culver City praises Amy Nicholson's piece about Pussy Riot's recent appearance at a star-studded event (“Pussy Riot in Hollywood,” April 11). “Thanks for your covering this issue. And kudos to Amy Nicholson for calling out liberal icon Bill Maher for his 'condescending aside,' in which he just had to turn a serious issue raised by brave women into an all-too-typical male joke about their being 'beautiful,' as well as citing a male guest commenting they were 'hot.' You made a good choice in having a woman reporter cover this event — and a talented one to boot.“

The Chinese Are Coming

Claire Spiegel's story about a Chinese billionaire purchasing Philip Chandler's estate in Pasadena also had readers talking (“Old House, New Money,” April 11). Ben Eubanks writes, “The dynamic of cash-rich foreigners buying local property in Pasadena and San Marino, thereby escalating prices making it unfeasible for the indigenous population to realistically afford to buy, reminds us of the same process whereby the locals of Hawaii are unable to afford property in their own land.”

Mark Weiner adds, “I suppose the Huangs have the right to buy whatever they can afford. But the article states they already have six homes already. I guess for some people there is no limit to their greed.”

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